Developments in software, particularly in artificial intelligence and pattern recognition have led to the development of a variety of recognition software products. Recognition software recognizes features of one or more aspects of a user.
One example of a recognition software product is an Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) product for recognizing the speech of a user. ASR products may be designed for personal and business use such as in a desktop speech recognition system. An ASR product receives an input of live or recorded speech, and recognizes elements of the speech such as the words. The ASR product may convert the recognized speech into text, such as for dictation. The ASR product may also use the recognized speech for enabling the user to communicate with a device, such as for instructing the device to perform a task and for asking the device for information. However, ASR products have experienced poor sales. Furthermore, ASR products have experienced a low rate of use after purchase.
Another example of a type of recognition product is recognition security products for controlling use or entry of a variety of entities such as a computer or a house. Recognition security products may use a variety of types of personal data for determining the identity of a person. The recognition security system receives input personal data and compares it to stored personal data. Examples of personal data include images (such as photographs and video recordings), voice data, other types of biometric data, behavioral passwords such as gestures, and personal facts related to an individual, such as place of birth, mother's maiden name, current home address, etc.
Recognition products may be designed for use with specific users that have trained the recognition product to be familiar with each specific user's idiosyncrasies relevant to the recognition product so that the product adapts to the specific user. These recognition products include adaptation software for facilitating adaptation of the recognition product for each user of the product. The adaptation software allows each user to train the product. The user provides the adaptation software with a sample(s) of the aspect being recognized. During a training period the adaptation software uses the sample to adapt the product to effectively recognize data submitted by a user during normal use of the product.
For example, when training an ASR the user provides the adaptation software of the ASR product with samples of the user's speech so that the ASR product can adapt to the user's particular voice and speech style. For a security video recognition product that uses images of a user's face captured by a camera such as a video camera, the user provides the adaptation software of the product with sample recorded images of the user's face so that the product can adapt to recognize the face of the user. For a security voice recognition product that uses the voice of a user captured by a device such as a microphone, the user provides the adaptation software of the product with sample recorded vocal data of the user's voice so that the product can adapt to recognize the voice of the user.
However, the training process is time consuming and intimidating to purchasers of recognition products, so that purchasers and other prospective users are likely to postpone training of the recognition products, and accordingly not to use the recognition product. Recognition products may be designed for use without requiring training of the product, such as ASR products designed for recognizing speech independent of the speaker. However user independent recognition products, such as speaker independent ASR products, are lacking in accuracy, which also discourages use. Due to the low rate of use of recognition products, potential buyers and users do not perceive it to be stylish or fashionable to use a recognition product, and are not motivated to buy or use a recognition product.